Collection 7: Back in the City eps 26 till 29
by LatiosFan
Summary: Episodes 26-29 in my series of episodes where Ash and Angie travel together through the Pokémon world, now combined in a separate story. MorpheusShipping but also for other Pokémon fans. Our friends got through Viridian Forest, but will they be safe now?
1. Chapter 1

Episode 26: Viridian Surprise!

Episode 26 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

"Hey Ash, can you finally get out off the bathroom now!? You've been in there for half an hour already," Tracey shouted, as he banged on the door.

"Just a minute... almost ready!" Ash yelled back, as Tracey still heard the water of the shower running.

It was nice to have access to the common luxury of a shower, and a real bed again, and Ash was making sure he enjoyed every aspect of those. The Pokémon Center in Viridian City didn't have it's own guest rooms, but to provide a place to stay for traveling trainers, the building next door had been acquired, and it was changed into a sort of hotel. It didn't have separate rooms, but was more set up like a dormitory, just like the accommodation you would usually find inside a Pokémon Center. Our friends were sleeping late today and after finally waking up, going to the bathroom to freshen up after all their ordeals in Viridian Forest was the next logical stop.

"I know they say girls can spend ages in the bathroom, but after this I am beginning to doubt it is true," Tracey replied.

"Alright, alright, take it easy..." Ash said as he closed the tap of the shower and took a towel.

"I mean, Angie already left for the Pokémon Center, and she was awake about as late as you," Tracey stated.

"Huh!?" Ash said, and he came running out off the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, I should have told you that earlier, then the bathroom would have been free for me so much sooner," Tracey teased Ash.

"Did she say what she was going to do?" Ash informed.

"No, not really, but maybe she just wanted to phone home, or check on her Pokémon," Tracey suggested.

Ash got dressed quickly, while Tracey took possession of the bathroom. After getting ready, Ash raced downstairs, since he was curious to learn why Angie had left the dormitory before them. He entered the Pokémon center, and saw Angie sitting by the phone, just like Tracey had mentioned as a possible place where to find her.

"Hi Ash," Angie said as she heard him walking towards her, and turned around, "did you sleep well?"

"Like a log," Ash answered, while smiling, "how about you?"

"Very well, thank you," she answered, "it was sure nice to be sleeping in a real bed again."

"Who are you calling?" Ash informed, as he put his arm around Angie.

"Hello dear!" Ash suddenly heard Angie's mother say, as her picture appeared on the view screen, "oh, and hello Ash!" she added as she saw him sitting cozy next to her daughter.

"Uh...eh... hello Angie's mom," Ash stuttered, feeling a little embarrassed, as he tried to removed his arm from Angie without attracting too much attention.

"You don't have to do that Ash, "Angie's mother laughed, "I already know you like my daughter, remember?"

Ash started to blush and slowly put his arm back where it was before.

"And I also know Angie likes you a lot," Angie's mom continued, "so I'm fine with you two getting along so nicely."

Now Angie started to blush as well. She was getting used to being around Ash a lot with others around, like Tracey, and it usually didn't stop her from showing her affection for him, "but it still felt somewhat uncomfortable when parents start talking about your feelings", she thought.

"Is Ash there as well?" Ash heard a very familiar voice say through the phone, "can I talk to him for a moment?"

"Mom?" Ash asked, "what are you doing there?"

"Well good morning to you too, my boy," his mom greeted Ash, "I phoned Angie's parents a few days ago and they invited me to come over to their place for a few days. Mimey takes care of the house while I'm gone. Since you two are getting along so nice, it would be nice if Angie's parents and me got to know each other better, when you two in the future, well... you know..."

Ash became even more red on his cheeks now then before, and Angie did the same, as she realized what Ash's mom was hinting at.

"Oh, how cute..." they heard Ash's mom say, as she turned her head to the right, so she was probably talking to Angie's mom for a moment, before looking forward to Ash and Angie again, "anyway, I'm glad you all got through Viridian Forest safe and sound."

"Yeah, we agree, right Angie?" Ash said, much relieved because of this change of subject.

"Are you going to challenge the Viridian Gym today Ash?" his mother asked.

"Well, I was going to, yes," Ash answered, "I wonder if Gary is still running the gym, I haven't seen him in a while, or heard of him."

"Then I think you're in for a surprise..." Ash's mother said with a mysterious smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," his mother replied, "but I believe Angie's mother has something to say now, so I'm off again. Take good care of each other and good luck in the gym Ash!"

"Bye mom, you have a good time as well!" Ash said.

Angie's mother appeared again on the screen, and also wished Ash good luck with his upcoming battle. Then she said goodbye to Ash and Angie, and the connection was terminated. For a moment Ash just stared at Angie, thinking about what his mother had said, hinting at their possible future. Angie seemed to be reading his thoughts, as she also looked quite serious as she looked back at him. "How will it be when we grow up and are still together...?" she wondered.

"How's your Zigzagoon doing?" Ash said, as he tried to break the silence.

"Nurse Joy said it will be fine in no time," Angie answered, on the one hand feeling a little sad this special moment was over already, but at the same time as relieved as Ash was, since talking about their future together, is not something she wanted to do in public.

"That's nice," Ash commented.

"What's nice?" Tracey asked.

"Oh, Angie was telling me her Zigzagoon is recovering nicely," Ash explained, "but I didn't expect you here so soon."

"Not everyone has to hog the bathroom for as long as you, Ash," Tracey teased him.

"Hmmm, well okay, shall we go to the gym?" Ash quickly suggested, to change the subject.

"Sounds okay to me," Angie replied, "if we go early, we can use the afternoon to get some supplies again."

"To the gym then!" Tracey added.

Viridian City's Gym had been through some changes in the past. First Giovanni was the Gym Leader, but when it became clear he merely used the gym as a disguise for his plans as leader of Team Rocket, and was only after strong Pokémon, Gary had taken over the role of Gym Leader since. So Ash was extra pumped for this battle. Gary used to mock him when they both started their Pokémon journey, and although the last time Ash met him, he seemed to have grown more friendly towards Ash, and less cocky in general, Ash was still looking forward to showing him he had learned a trick or two, and beating Gary would be the icing on the cake. A few streets further they reached the Gym.

"Hello there! I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I've come to challenge this Gym!" Ash shouted as he knocked on the door.

There was no response at all. Ash was about to knock on the door again, a little louder this time, but then the it slowly opened. It wasn't Gary, instead a young woman appeared in the opening.

"Daisy...? Daisy Oak?" Ash said, very surprised.

"Hi Ash, so you've come to challenge the gym?" Daisy informed

"That's right!" Ash replied, eager to battle.

"Gary already told me he had heard you were traveling Kanto again, so we were expecting you," Daisy continued, "and the Gym Leader will accept your challenge."

"Okay, so let's go see him then," Ash answered, now getting a bit impatient.

"That will be impossible," Daisy said.

"Oh, is Gary afraid of me or what?" Ash wondered.

"That's not it," Daisy answered, "Gary isn't here at the moment," she continued, leaving Ash even more clueless.

"But if Gary isn't here, how can the Gym Leader accept my challenge?" Ash asked.

"Oh, but the Gym Leader is here..." Daisy said, as she smiled at Ash.

"I don't understand..." was all Ash could say.

"I think Daisy is trying to say..." Tracey started.

"Your friend has guessed it right, I am the Gym Leader, Ash," Daisy stated.

After Ash had recovered of this surprise, Daisy explained that her grandfather, professor Oak, had asked Gary to do something for him. In turn, Gary asked his older sister to look after the Gym while he was away on his mission. Then she invited our friends to have some tea, since she had just been making that as they came knocking on her door. Ash wasn't happy about the extra delay, but he was polite enough to give in, and came along too.

"So, Ashy boy, are you ready for that battle now?" Daisy suddenly said.

"Don't you start calling me that also..." Ash sighed.

"I'm sorry Ash, but my brother insisted I'd call you that way if you would show up," Daisy explained, "but I won't do it again from now on, I promise."

"Okay, then let's battle!" Ash said, all enthusiastic again.

Daisy led them to the Battle Ground. It was still mostly composed of rocks, revealing it once was a Ground-type Gym. However, the coloring on the walls was so much brighter than in the days when Giovanni was still in control. Daisy showed Ash his side of the field, and then she walked to the other side. A door opened in the side of the wall, opposite to where they had entered the Battle Ground, and a referee appeared.

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town challenges Daisy, acting Gym Leader of Viridian Gym," the referee introduced the combatants, "each trainer will use three Pokémon, and only the challenger can switch during battle. The first trainer to be out off usable Pokémon loses."

Ash and Daisy both nodded to indicate they agreed to the rules.

"Trainers ready? Go!" the referee shouted.

"Golem, Come out!" Daisy shouted as she sent out her first Pokémon.

"Huh, I didn't know you had a Golem?" Ash asked surprised.

"Gary left some of his Pokémon here, since he has so many, he doesn't need them all when he goes away," Daisy cleared this thing up.

"Uh...right..." Ash said, not very happy to be reminded of how many Pokémon Gary has caught, "Buizel, I choose you!"

"Gary said you would choose Pikachu as your first Pokémon, regardless of it's type, but it seems he was wrong. Good choice Ash," Daisy praised him.

"Gee, thanks, but I haven't won yet," Ash replied, "Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

"Golem, counter it with Rollout!" Daisy reacted.

Buizel's Aqua Jet collided with Golem's Rollout at full speed. An explosion occurred, and Buizel was seen flying backwards through the air. It managed to turn over while in flight, and landed on it's hind legs, with one paw on the ground as well, to break it's fall, and slow it down. The smoke cleared, and Golem was knocked out.

"That Buizel is really something!" Daisy remarked, "Gary told me his Golem once even withstood a direct hit from a Blastoise's Hydro Pump."

"Good job, Buizel!" Ash praised his Water-type Pokémon, which did however seem to have taken some damage as well.

"Way to go Ash!" Angie cheered.

"Speaking of Blastoise," Daisy said, "come out!" and to everyone's surprise she send out a Blastoise.

"Now where did you get that...? Wait, let me guess, it also belongs to Gary, right?" Ash reasoned.

"You got that right," Daisy answered, "Blastoise, show us your Hydro Pump!"

"Buizel, do Water Pulse!" Ash commanded.

Both water attacks crashed into each other in midair, but the Hydro Pump was so powerful it just shattered Buizel's Water Pulse, and raced on towards Buizel.

"Dodge it Buizel!" Ash warned his Pokémon, but Buizel wasn't fit enough anymore to get away in time, and was partially hit, smashing it into the wall with much force.

Buizel fainted, and Ash called it back to it's Poké Ball

"You did really well, Buizel. Pikachu, are you ready for some action, buddy?" Ash asked, as he looked to the side.

"Pika!" Ash's electric Pokémon jumped forward, it's cheeks sparkling with electricity.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Withdraw!" Daisy responded.

Blastoise disappeared into it's shell, and Pikachu's Thunderbolt was reflected by it's large shield. Then Blastoise came out again, and Daisy ordered it to do a quick Water Gun, blasting Pikachu against a wall, before disappearing back in it's shell again.

"Oh... Pikachu!" Ash yelled, concerned about his little buddy.

"Pikaaa!" it sounded as Pikachu got up again, shaking the drops of water off it's back.

"That's the spirit! Just hang in there!" Ash encouraged Pikachu.

"Now how are we going to get that Blastoise out off it's shell...?" Ash pondered. Then he suddenly came up with an idea.

"Pikachu, jump up and do Iron Tail on Blastoise's shell!" Ash commanded.

"Huh? Don't think that this will hurt Blastoise at all, Ash!" Daisy warned him as Pikachu did it's first attack.

"Just wait... Pikachu, keep doing your Iron Tail like that," Ash instructed his Pokémon buddy.

"Chu! Chuu!" they heard Pikachu cry as it kept hitting Blastoise, seemingly without any result.

"Ash, it's no use!" Angie shouted, "why don't you try one of your other Pokémon?"

"Trust me," Ash answered, "it should happen any moment now..."

"What do you mean...?" Angie wondered, but then her question was suddenly answered.

Blastoise slowly came out off it's shell. All the banging on it's protective natural shield had driven it out, and it seemed a bit confused by it all. "So that's what Ash was trying to do... clever..." Angie thought.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!" Ash quickly commanded, trying to take advantage of Blastoise's dazed state.

"Oh no!" Daisy yelled, as she saw how her Pokémon was hit by Pikachu's electricity, and was unable to avoid it.

"Now finish it with Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted.

Ash's Pikachu raced towards Blastoise, totally engulfed in the electric energy it had been gathering around itself, getting fully charged for the Volt Tackle attack. Pikachu hit Blastoise at full speed, causing a big explosion, hurling Pikachu backwards through the sky, but it was fully in control during it's flight, and landed safely on it's four paws. As Blastoise became visible again, it appeared to be still standing. Ash looked at Pikachu, which was apparently quite exhausted of all it's efforts trying to bring Blastoise down, and then clenched his fists, staring at Blastoise.

"Blas...toise...!" was the last thing Blastoise uttered before it fell over, and fainted.

"Oh! Blastoise!" Daisy yelled, as she lost her second Pokémon, "come back!"

"Okay Ash, keep it up!" Angie and Tracey cheered simultaneously.

"Nice strategy, but you haven't won yet..." Daisy stated, "Clefairy, show yourself!"

"A Clefairy, right?" Ash reacted, "Pikachu, you were fantastic, now get some rest. Chimchar, it's your turn!"

"Do Wake-up Slap!" Daisy commanded.

"Dodge it and do Flamethrower!" Ash countered Daisy's move.

Chimchar's Flamethrower hit Clefairy right on, pushing it back a few meters.

"Clefairy, do Moonlight!" Daisy suddenly commanded.

"What is that for kind of move?" Ash thought out loud.

"With Moonlight the user regains about half of it's health" Tracey explained.

"And when the weather is very sunny, a Pokémon that uses Moonlight is fully healed," Angie added.

"Okay...that is not good..." Ash said, with a bit of fear in his voice, "Chimchar, do scratch!"

"Double Slap!" was Daisy's reaction to this new attack.

Chimchar and Clefairy hit each other pretty hard, but then Daisy made her Pokémon do Moonlight again. Ash looked down for a moment, pondering about his next move. "If this keeps going this way, we can never win. Chimchar is taking damage, and Daisy's Clefairy keeps on healing itself..." Then Ash seemed to have found the solution, and he looked up again, with his eyes bright and optimistic.

"Chimchar, make a shield around Clefairy with your Flame Wheel!" he commanded, much to everyone's surprise.

Ash's Fire-type Pokémon did as it's trainer asked, and created a fiery cage around Daisy's Pokémon, leaving Clefairy trapped inside it.

"Try to get out off there!" Daisy yelled, but Clefairy was unable to break through the flames, and only got hurt while trying to.

"Now, do Flame Wheel on Clefairy!" Ash ordered, making a gesture with his arm as if he was giving Chimchar an extra push ahead.

Chimchar's speed enabled it to enter the cage of flames without getting really hurt, and it bashed into Clefairy with a loud bang. Then Chimchar stopped rotating, and landed on the ground again. "Did we get it...?" Ash wondered silently.

"Clefairy is no longer able to battle! The Challenger, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, wins!" the referee called out.

"Nice job Ash, you have really shown you earned this," Daisy praised Ash as she handed him the Earth Badge.

Angie fell around his neck and kissed him briefly, and then Tracey congratulated him as well.

"I can see your Pokémon all like you a lot Ash, even before I noticed how you handle them in battle, and help them perform even better," Daisy stated, "too bad Gary wasn't here to see it, he would have been positively surprised."

"Maybe we'll run into him some other time," Ash suggested, "I'm looking forward to it."

"You all care for another cup of tea with some sandwiches before you leave?" Daisy invited them.

Since the thought of those sandwiches really appealed to our friends, they quickly accepted the offer. After a delicious lunch, Ash, Angie and Tracey said goodbye to Daisy, and went to town, to stock up for their upcoming journey, trying to be as well prepared as possible for the adventures that undoubtedly lied ahead.

My 33rd fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 27: Trouble on Mt. Moon (part 1)

Part 1 of episode 27 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

Ash had slept even better this night. Not just because he had won his Gym Battle against Daisy, Gary's older sister, the day before, but he had also beaten a few of Gary's Pokémon. "That almost counted as beating Gary," he thought before he closed his eyes. In fact, Ash slept so well on those thoughts, that the next day he was awake and fully rested, long before the others. So he got dressed as silently as he could, and sneaked out off the dormitory. Then, a little later...

"Psssst... Ash...?" Angie whispered, "are you awake yet...?"

Angie listened for a moment, but she got no answer at all...

"Hey, Ash..." she said, a little louder this time, but still nothing.

"Oh, are we ignoring me now?" Angie thought. "I will teach him not to..." and she threw her pillow to Ash's bed. It hit the blankets, but still no reaction. "That does it!" Angie thought, and she jumped out off bed. "You're so going to get the 'tickle-death' mister!" She walked towards Ash's bed, but when she go closer, she noticed it was empty... "Yesterday he had trouble getting out, and now he's up already?" Angie wondered, "that's really weird..."

Angie got dressed quickly. Since Tracey was still asleep, she tried to be as quiet as possible. At these moments Angie was glad she wasn't so much into make-up and special hairdos, now it only took her a few minutes to get ready. She left the dormitory and went outside of the building. Suddenly she saw a flash, like lightning. "Strange, it's doesn't look like it's going to rain or so..." she thought. Then another flash! "It seems to come from the back of the building," Angie noticed, and she ran around the side. As she was almost at the back of the building, she slowed down, and put her head around the corner when...

"Glggllglllp!" was all Angie could say as she was hit by a strong jet of water.

"Buizel, stop!" Ash shouted as he saw his Pokémon's Water Gun was hitting another target then the one it actually should be hitting.

"Thanks a lot Ash!" Angie shouted to him, almost completely soaked, "I may not have taken a shower yet, but that doesn't mean you have to give me one then!"

"Oh...sorry Ange," Ash apologized, "here, I'll make it up to you, Chimchar, do your Flame Thro...!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Angie warned Ash, as she stared at him with an angry look on her face.

"Chimchar, stop!" Ash shouted, calling off the attack.

"What are you doing by the way, Ash?" Angie asked, as she wiped her wet hair from her eyes.

"I just felt like training a little with all my Pokémon," Ash explained, "Nurse Joy said they had all fully recovered from the battle against Daisy, and somehow I have a feeling something big is coming, so we might need the extra exercise."

"Hmmm, can I join as well?" Angie proposed, "I won't be mad anymore for getting me soaked then."

"Sure! You all agree with it, right?" Ash asked his Pokémon.

"Bui, bui! Char! Gliscor gli! Starrravia! Grotle! Pika... pikachu!" all Ash's Pokémon made it very clear they liked Angie to join the training as well.

"Okay, come out Shinx, Bulbasaur and Zigzagoon!" Angie shouted as she sent out her team.

They began the training together, and soon all kinds of attacks were flying from side to side. Suddenly Tracey came running towards them, calling out loud.

"Ash! Angie!" you've got to come with me, now!" Tracey yelled.

"Why? What's wrong!?" Ash asked.

"Nurse Joy got a message for you, she said it was urgent!" Tracey explained.

Ash and Angie made their Pokémon return to their Poké Balls, and ran back to the Pokémon Center, with Tracey. As they entered the Center, Nurse Joy was pacing from one side to another behind her desk.

"Oh Ash, there you are, come quick," Nurse Joy said, as she waved our heroes to follow her.

"What's wrong, Nurse Joy?" Angie asked, as she was getting worried, as were Ash and Tracey.

"I got an urgent transmission just this morning," Nurse Joy explained, "it's from Gary Oak..."

"Huh?" Ash wondered, "perhaps he wanted to congratulate me on getting my latest badge," Ash gloated.

"No, it's not like that," Nurse Joy answered, "just take a look at this, we taped the transmission, before it was cut off..."

Nurse Joy activated the video screen in the control room behind her reception desk. A few seconds later Gary appeared on screen, but he indeed didn't look like he was going to congratulate anyone.

"Ash, I really hope this message reaches you. My grandfather asked me to investigate a situation on Mt. Moon and it got out off hand. I need your help as soon as possible. Meet me at the summit of the mountain. To get there, you can ask Daisy to lend you some of my Pokémon if you don't have means of transportation of your own. Hurry Ash! And watch out fo.."

Then Gary disappeared and the transmission was suddenly terminated.

"That sounds pretty serious..." Tracey commented, "Nurse Joy, any idea why the transmission was cut off so abruptly?"

"No, that's what makes me so scared about it. There was no malfunction of our receiver, so the connection was broken at the side of the sender..." she explained.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ash said with his impatient voice.

Gary may have been his rival for a long period now, and an annoying rival at times as well, but when he really needed help, Ash was willing to put that all aside, like that time when they had protected those Shieldon from getting captured by HunterJ. and her henchmen. Ash sure hoped she wasn't behind the trouble Gary was referring to...

Angie quickly got into some dry clothes, and then Ash and his friends raced towards the Gym. They quickly explained to Daisy about the message from her brother. She did think it was strange Gary hadn't contacted her as well to ask for help, but she agreed to let Ash lend some Pokémon to get to Mt. Moon. They chose his Skarmory, Scyzor and Fearow.

"Be careful all of you!" Daisy said, as she waved them goodbye.

Although Gary's Pokémon ware quite fast, it was still a long distance they had to travel.

"Are we already there?" Ash asked Tracey, since they decided to leave navigating to him from now on.

"I estimate about fifteen minutes more," Tracey answered.

"Aaaww, still so long?" Ash whined, "my bottom feels like a piece of wood already."

"Ah, boys are always complaining," Angie mocked, "maybe we should get a Jumpluff for you next time, then your delicate bottom won't have to suffer so much."

Ash gave Angie an angry look, but he stopped complaining. Gary had been right about their position, and soon the summit of Mt. Moon rose up before them.

"Look, down there!" Ash shouted, as he pointed to a small plane, very close to the top of the mountain.

"That looks like a tent..." Angie said, "perhaps it's Gary's?"

"Let's get down there!" Ash suggested.

They landed as fast as possible, and made the Pokémon that carried them there return to their Poké Balls, after thanking them for the effort. It was indeed a tent, and it was clear someone had been camping here recently. There was still some smoke coming from the campfire, and some cups were scattered on the ground

"Gary!? Where are you?" Ash yelled, and Angie and Tracey did the same.

"It looks like he's not here..." Angie said.

"But where can he be... and what might have happened?" Tracey wondered.

Suddenly a large net fell from above on top of our friends, and they were trapped!

"What's the meaning of this?" Ash yelled, "Gary, if this is your idea of a joke, it sure isn't funny!"

"So, at last... I have Pikachu!" an dark sounding voice spoke...

(to be continued...)

My 35th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 27: Trouble on Mt. Moon (part 2)

Part 2 of episode 27 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

"Who is there!? Show yourself!" Ash yelled, as he tried to free himself from the net.

"It's definitely not Gary, that's for sure," Angie said, as she remembered how he had sounded on the recording they heard earlier that day.

"I think I've heard that voice before..." Ash mentioned, "but I don't remember it clearly enough."

"Let me fresh up your memory for you..." the dark voice spoke again.

A man in a suit stepped forward from the shadow of a rock. He was middle aged, but his looks were very fierce, even menacing.

"Huh!?" Ash said as he was startled by the looks of this man, "it's...it's.....you!"

"Care to explain who 'you' is?" Angie asked.

"This is Giovanni, the former Gym Leader of Viridian City, and now the boss of Team Rocket!" Ash explained.

"So... you do remember me. Good," Giovanni said, as a slight vicious smile formed around his mouth, "now bring me that Pikachu!"

Suddenly the area was filled with Team Rocket agents. Heavily outnumbered, our friends were quickly captured, and now the grunts switched their attention to Pikachu. Ash's yellow buddy didn't intend to get caught without a fight, and it tried to shock it's attackers. They were however well prepared, with special suits that reflected Pikachu's electricity, and soon it was also caught and put in a small cage.

"You let Pikachu go!" Ash shouted, "you won't get away with this!" and he tried to free himself from the grip of the agents that held him.

"For years I have been waiting for that useless Jessie, James and Meowth to steal that Pikachu for me. You really believe I will let it go, now that I finally have it?" Giovanni said, "Never! Take them away!"

Suddenly the sound of rotor blades disturbed the serenity of Mt. Moon, and two Team Rocket helicopters appeared. The pilots landed on the plain, and Giovanni stepped into one of them, holding the cage with his precious bounty close to himself. After their hands were tied behind their backs, Ash and his friends were pushed towards the other helicopter. Once inside, they saw a familiar trainer.

"Gary!" Ash said, "what are you doing here?"

"Hello Ash," Gary replied, "I'm sorry I led you into their trap like that. I tried to warn you when they forced me to send you that message, but they cut of the transmission before I could finish my sentence."

"So there was no situation that you needed Ash's help with?" Tracey asked.

"No, not really. It was all a trap to get Ash here," Gary explained, "even the call I received from my grandfather, to go investigate a phenomenon here, was probably fake as well. I only heard his voice, there was a problem with the video connection, but I bet that was just a trick. I would never have made that call to you if they wouldn't have threatened to blow up the gym with Daisy as well. Perhaps I never should have called you anyway, now we are all in danger, not just my sister and me."

Gary banged his shoulder against the side of the helicopter as he apparently blamed himself for the situation he and our friends were now in.

"Hey, don't worry," Ash tried to cheer Gary up, "I know we'll find a way to get out off here, right guys?"

"We've been in other tight situations," Angie added, "Ash is right, Gary."

"If we just keep our eyes open, maybe we'll get the chance to escape," Tracey agreed.

After flying for a while, they noticed the helicopters slowly descended. Ash looked out off the window, and saw a small airstrip, with a control tower, and a few sheds on the side of the runway. The pilot steered the craft down even more, and both helicopters landed close to the beginning of the airstrip. One of the side doors of the helicopter Ash and his friends were in, slid open, and they overheard Giovanni talking.

"What do you mean my jet hasn't arrived yet?" he shouted at one of his henchmen, "it's already getting dark and I don't want to waste more time here. Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by incompetent fools!"

"I'm sorry sir, I'll make sure those who are responsible for the delay will not go unpunished!" the grunt yelled as he was shaking with fear.

"That sounds more like it! You make sure nothing happens to our precious cargo, and don't let those brats play any tricks on you as well!" Giovanni ordered, "I'll go inside to get me a little drink and celebrate my catch of the day."

"Yes sir!" the Team Rocket agent acknowledged, glad his boss seemed to be in a slightly better mood now than a few seconds before.

"So that's what he is up to..." Ash whispered to his friends, "and when that jet arrives, I'll never see Pikachu again..."

Although a few minutes ago Ash had been all positive about escaping, to cheer up Gary, now he was beginning to feel sad. Angie noticed it before the others did, but since her hands were tied, she couldn't give him the hug she wanted to. So instead she laid her head on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear "don't give up Ash, as long as we're together, there is hope, right?" Ash blinked with his eyes to get rid of a single tear that had formed, and looked at her, slightly reassured now. Then suddenly the other door, on the side that was facing the runway, slid open slowly. Gary was leaning against it, and almost fell out, but he managed to regain his balance just in time. Then he felt someone untie his hands!

"Huh!?" Gary wondered, as he felt the ropes slide off his wrists.

"What is it?" Tracey asked.

Gary silently moved one of his free hands so Tracey could see them.

"Awesome, how did you do that?" Tracey asked wondered, "hey Ash, look!"

Ash was just as surprised as Tracey so see that Gary was free again, but before he could think about how this had happened, Gary started loosening Ash's ropes. When Ash was freed, he helped Angie, while Gary freed Tracey. Then our friends looked to the side from which Gary had been freed, and suddenly straight into the masked face of a Team Rocket grunt!

"Awww, busted!" Ash said, but before he could make any more sounds, the grunt put his hand over his mouth.

"Sssshhhht, just follow me if you want your Pikachu back..." a familiar sounding voice spoke, although no one could quite identify it.

They sneaked to the other helicopter, and the grunt opened the door, just as silently as he had had done with the other helicopter. He quickly grabbed out the cage in which Giovanni had put Pikachu. Staying as much as possible in the shadows, which wasn't too hard since this secret airfield was quite poorly lit, they reached one of the maintenance sheds on the side of the runway, and sneaked inside. Ash opened the cage, and a surprised but extremely happy Pikachu came out, jumped into Ash's arms, and started licking his face.

"Yeah, it's so great to see you too, buddy!" Ash said, as he cried tears with joy.

"I told you everything would be alright again Ash," Angie smiled, as she also joined the happy Pokémon and trainer reunion, and received a few licks from Pikachu as well.

"Okay, but now I would really like to know who you are!" Gary said, as he stepped into the direction of their mysterious saviour.

"Okay, but prepare for trouble..." the Team Rocket grunt said as he took a step back, seemingly scared by the determined look on Gary's face.

"And make it double..." another familiar sounding, female voice said, from a dark corner inside the building.

"Guys, we can't do the motto now, or we'll get caught!" a catlike voice said.

"Team Rocket!?" our friends and Gary said at the same time.

"Yes, it is true," James said as he took of his mask, unveiling his true identity.

"But why?" Ash asked, "you're the ones that are always after Pikachu..."

"Precisely!" Jessie said, as she stepped out of the dark corner she was hiding in, "Meowth, would you like to explain it to the twerps?"

"Sure! It's quite simple," the feline Pokémon started, "if the boss gets Pikachu himself now, we wont be able to catch it anymore, and get that enormous reward for it, when we hand it over to the boss. So it is in our best interest to set you free, so we can catch Pikachu later ourselves."

"And catch it we will!" Jessie added.

"Certainly!" James agreed while his Mime Jr. subscribed to that by imitating him.

"That's right!" Meowth concluded, after which Wobbuffet popped out off it's Poké Ball to perform it's salute.

"I fail to see the logic in that," Gary spoke, "but for now we have to get out off here!"

Suddenly the doors were busted open, and a couple of Team Rocket grunts came barging in, followed by Giovanni.

"What is going on in here!?" Team Rocket's Leader shouted with an angry voice.

"Well, these twerps tried to escape, but we discovered them and were about to catch them," Jessie improvised.

"What!?" Ash yelled, "why... you double crossing..." and Ash wanted to let Jessie have it, when he noticed she winked at them for a second.

"Ash, I think she is putting on a little play here," Gary whispered in his ear.

"We'll get those twerps for you sir!" Jessie spoke, "Seviper, do Haze!"

A thick black smoke filled the room, and Ash and his friends momentarily disappeared from sight. Sensing this was their chance, they ran outside through the back door.

"What are you doing!?" Giovanni yelled, "I can't see a thing, you fools!"

"Ehehehehe..." Jessie laughed sheepishly, "I can be so clumsy sometimes. James, let Carnivine do Bullet Seed to clear the smoke!"

"But Jessie... are you sure that's such a good move?" James asked.

"Just do it!" she hissed into his ear.

Carnivine's attack did clear the smoke, but the resulting explosion caused an equally dense cloud of dust, so Giovanni and his henchmen were still unable to see anything.

"Get out off my way!" he yelled at Jessie, James and Meowth, I have a better chance of catching those kids and that Pikachu if you're not around.

"Yes sir! Whatever you say sir! Right away sir!" Jessie said as they removed themselves quickly from Giovanni's sight.

"After those kids!" Giovanni ordered his remaining henchmen.

Because of the clumsy actions of Jessie, James and Meowth, our friends had gotten a nice head-start, and were already halfway the runway. Suddenly some searchlights swept over the airstrip, and our friends were almost blinded by it, as the beams of light locked on to them.

"There they are!" one of the agents yelled.

"Uhoh..." Angie said, "they've spotted us again!"

"I think we should make a stand with our Pokémon, right Gary?" Ash suggested.

"I don't think we really have a chance then, we're heavily outnumbered..." Gary sighed.

"Well, I'm not giving up without a fight!" Ash said, as he clenched his fists. "Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaachu!" it sounded as the yellow Pokémon shocked the approaching henchmen.

But after the shock ended, the agents got up again, and came closer. Pikachu tried and tried, but the agents kept coming. Pikachu was getting really tired, and all seemed lost, they would probably quickly be captured again, when suddenly...

"What's that sound that I hear? Is that a Police car?" Tracey remarked.

"Everyone drop your Poké Balls and put your hands up in the air!" they heard Officer Jenny shout through the speakers on the roof of the Police car that came racing towards them.

"It's the cops!" some of the Team Rocket agents yelled in fear, and they tried to run off.

But Officer Jenny didn't come alone, more cars appeared and soon they were surrounded, and taken into custody.

"Are you unharmed?" Officer Jenny asked as she walked towards our friends.

"Yes, we're fine...now" Ash answered, "but how did you get here so soon?"

"Daisy didn't trust the distress call that asked you to go to Mt. Moon," Officer Jenny explained, "so she called her grandfather, Professor Oak, and learned that he never asked Gary to go on a mission for him. So she alarmed me, and soon we detected some unidentified flying objects invading our airspace. So we decided to check that out, and now we are here."

"Well, thanks a lot, you came just in time," Angie praised the friendly Police officer.

"Just doing my job," Officer Jenny brushed away the compliment, although she smiled with pride at the same time.

Our heroes saw how the Police took many Team Rocket agents prisoner, but they didn't see a trace of Jessie, James, Meowth or Giovanni.

"They sure are a strange lot, right Ash?" Angie said, referring to the trio that was usually trying to make life miserable for them.

"Yeah, sometimes they seem to be able to do the right thing for a change," Ash added.

"But I doubt whether they will be as helpful the next time we meet them," Tracey concluded.

Gary, Ash, Angie and Tracey got into the Police Car with Jenny, and she took them back to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Gary went straight to the gym, to see Daisy. But our friends were so tired, they decided to get in early, and went to the dormitory. What started as a regular day, intended for some training, had become an exhausting adventure for them all, and not much later, everyone was already asleep, possibly dreaming of the events of the past day.

My 36th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 28: What Goes Around...

Episode 28 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

After the ordeals of yesterday, a bright new day was dawning, and welcomed our heroes with a sunny smile. They had decided to stay in Viridian City for a little longer, before moving on to the Indigo Plateau. But Ash didn't feel like relaxing all day, so he suggested to have a little training with their Pokémon. Angie agreed, since it also gave her an opportunity to get to work a little more with her recent catch, Zigzagoon. To avoid any accidents like the last time Ash trained behind the Pokémon Center and Angie got an involuntary shower, Angie proposed to find a more suitable spot outside of town. So after breakfast, they went to Route 1, and walked a while until they found an appropriate spot.

"Come out! Buizel, Chimchar, Staravia, Gliscor and Turtwig! It's time for some action!" Ash shouted as he released all his Pokémon.

"Yes! Come out also, Bulbasaur, Shinx and Zigzagoon!" Angie said as she sent out her team.

"Pikachu, you wanna train as well?" Ash asked his little buddy.

"Pikapika!" was the answer, as Pikachu stepped forward to join the others.

"If we let our Pokémon of the same type battle against each other, there is less chance on anyone getting hurt," Angie suggested.

"Good idea Ange, that's how we'll do it then," Ash agreed, "let's go!"

So Bulbasaur was put up against Turtwig, and Pikachu against Shinx. Gliscor was paired with Staravia. To make sure Zigzagoon got some extra experience with different opponents, both Chimchar and Buizel battled with it, taking turns. With it's amazing speed, Angie's Zigzagoon proved to be an expert in dodging attacks.

"I see it's still fast even if you're not trying to catch it," Ash joked.

Meanwhile Tracey was making some sketches of the scene. Sometimes the sky was filled with the most interesting combinations of attacks, and he tried to capture that in his drawings. After an extensive training, it was time to take some rest, and have lunch. Both trainers and Pokémon really appreciated the food after all this hard work. Having devoured everything, Ash and Angie lied down on the grass next to each other, both looking at the sky.

"It's nice here, right Ash?" Angie said.

"Yes, it is," Ash answered, as he pulled his cap over his eyes.

Tracey was drawing again, this time trying to capture the sight of the trainers and and their Pokémon resting. After he was happy with the results, Tracey decided to lie down as well, and enjoyed a little relaxing himself. It was a nice and warm day, and it didn't take long for everyone to doze off.

"Pika?" Ash heard in his dreams.

Then Ash felt something pushing in his side, and realized it wasn't a dream, it was Pikachu. The little Pokémon woke up a few minutes ago, and noticed the sun was at a much different position now, so it must be getting late, it figured.

"Huh?" Ash yawned, as he put his cap back on his head again.

He tried to get up, but something was holding his left hand. He looked to his left side, and saw that the 'something' was in fact someone. Angie was holding his hand while she was still sleeping. He carefully woke her, and she let go off his hand, blushing a lot. Pikachu woke Tracey and the other Pokémon. Ash and Angie made their Pokémon return to their Poké Balls, and our three friends went on their way, back home again. About halfway there, Pikachu raised it's ears.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash wondered, "did you hear something or ...?"

Ash was unable to finish his last words, as a large net fell from above, upon them. A smaller net captured Pikachu, who was a few meters ahead of Ash when this happened, the same way. The little electric Pokémon tried to break the net with a Thunderbolt, but the net reflected the electric energy, shocking Pikachu instead.

"Oh! Pikachu!" Ash cried as he saw his Pokémon struggle in vain to free itself.

"Hihihihihi! Nice catch Meowth!" they heard a female voice say.

"Oh no, not them again..." Angie sighed.

"Oh yes!" Jessie sneered, "so prepare for trouble!"

"...and make it double!" James added.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation", James continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie spoke again.

"To extend our reach to the stars above," James added

"Jessie," Jessie stated her name.

"...and James..." James introduced himself.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light," Jessie continued

"Surrender now or prepare to fight," James.

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth finished the motto.

"I was going to thank you for saving us the other day, but you can forget about that now!" Angie shouted.

"Like we care..." Jessie sneered, "we've got Pikachu!"

"You won't get away with this, Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

"We would really love to stick around and chat a little longer, but we have something to deliver to our boss, so if you'll excuse us... hahahahaha!" Jessie laughed.

"That strategy of letting you escape to be able to catch you ourselves is really paying off now," James remarked.

"We will make a pretty good impression if we present Pikachu to the boss," Meowth suggested, "I bet he'll make us leaders of the Kanto region for that."

"You really think so?" James asked, with his eyes all shiny with joy.

"We're gonna be rich and famous!" all three Team Rocket members cheered as they danced around in a circle.

Suddenly they heard a loud cry, not too far from them.

Wh..wha-wha-wha... what was that!?" James said, his legs shaking.

"I... I don't know," Jessie answered, "but I have a feeling we'll soon find out..."

"You don't think it's Giovanni, who overheard us talking about letting the twerps escape on purpose, or do you?" James wondered, still trembling with fear.

"Eh... guys..? Over there..." Meowth stuttered as he pointed at a place behind Jessie's back.

Jessie and James slowly turned around, to see what Meowth was getting at.

"Hey Ash, look!" Angie shouted.

"It's a herd of Kangaskhan..." Ash said.

"Could it be the same herd we met earlier, with that egg, you know?" Angie wondered.

"I think it is," Tracey answered her question, "yes, I'm sure of it, I clearly remember the way that larger Kangaskhan looked."

The large Kangaskhan walked towards Team Rocket, who were frozen with fear, and couldn't move.

"Khan!" the big Pokémon cried, as it snatched the net with Pikachu in it out off James's hands.

"Well, now that you have that back, I guess we'll be on our way as well, hihihihi," Jessie laughed nervously, as she tried to turn around and sneak away with James and Meowth.

But there was no escape, as other Kangaskhan were now surrounding them.

"I think they don't want us to go..." Meowth said, with fear in his catlike voice.

"Mummy!" James yelled.

The largest Kangaskhan tore the net with Pikachu in it into pieces and the little electric Pokémon was free again. A few seconds later, the same way our friends were also freed from their prison by this Kangaskhan. Meanwhile Team Rocket realized they couldn't escape quietly, and Jessie sent out her Yanmega.

"Do Sonic Boom and blast a way out off here for us!" Jessie commanded.

The Kangaskhan the attack was intended for, dodged it, but now the powerful wave was headed directly for Angie! Ash saw it and in a flash he stepped in front of her, with his back turned towards the blast. As the attack hit him, both he and Angie were swept off their feet. Angie landed on her back on the ground, and Ash fell on top of her, but managed to break his fall with his arms, so he couldn't hurt Angie. As the dust was slowly settling, Angie looked up and straight into Ash's eyes...

"Are you... okay?" Ash asked, as he looked back to her.

"Yeah... I think so," Angie answered, "thanks for saving me Ash..."

She looked even deeper into Ash's eyes, and suddenly she felt very comfortable being so close to him. She moved her head up a little, her lips closer to Ash's mouth. Ash also moved his head a little closer, feeling the same strange force pulling them closer together when...

"Hey guys, are you both alright?" they heard Tracey all of a sudden say in the distance.

Suddenly realizing they were about to kiss each other in public, Ash quickly got up, and then helped Angie on her feet again, both blushing quite heavily.

"We're fine," Ash answered.

In the meantime James had also released his Carnivine, and together with Jessie's Yanmega, they tried to force their way out off the sticky situation they were in. But a few Kangaskhan stepped in front of Team Rocket's Pokémon, and did a combined Mega Punch attack, putting both Carnivine and Yanmega out off commission.

"Pikachu, how about a little more exercise?" Ash suggested.

"Pika!" the little Pokémon agreed, it's cheeks sparkling with electricity.

"Okay, do Thunder!" Ash commanded.

The strong electric attack hit Team Rocket and their fainted Pokémon, sending them blasting off.

"We were so close..." Jessie grumbled.

"Aren't we always..." James sighed.

"Well, one thing we aren't close to at the moment is the ground!" Meowth yelled.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" the three villains cried together.

As our friends watched Team Rocket disappearing in the distance, another Kangaskhan appeared. Pikachu was the first to notice, and it started pulling on Ash's trousers.

"What is it, little buddy?" Ash wondered, "oh..." he added as he looked in the direction Pikachu was pulling him.

"Is that...?" Angie wondered.

"I think it is..." Ash answered, as they saw another Kangaskhan with a little one in the pouch on her belly step closer.

It was indeed the Kangaskhan whose egg they returned a little while ago, except now the egg had clearly hatched, and it's mother was now carrying a baby Kangaskhan with her.

"Awwww, it's so cute!" Angie said, as she watched this scene.

"I've got to sketch this!" Tracey remarked, as he took out his sketchbook again.

"I'm glad your egg hatched safely," Ash said to the Kangaskhan with the little baby, as he carefully padded the little one on it's head.

Then the largest member of the herd called the others to her, signaling it was time to move on again.

"Thanks for rescuing us, Kangaskhan!" Ash shouted, while waving to the herd.

"Take good care of your little one!" Angie added, as she also waved them goodbye.

"Bye!" Tracey said, as he put down his pencil for a moment to wave at the Pokémon that were leaving.

The herd of Kangaskhan disappeared in the woods, and our three friends started walking home again. Meeting an old friend, and learning that the egg they had returned to it's mother a while ago, had hatched safely, was an unexpected surprise for a day that at first didn't seem that special at all. It clearly showed that every day can have it's own new surprises, especially in a world with Pokémon.

My 39th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	5. Chapter 5

Episode 29: Turning Point

Episode 29 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

It was time to move on. After staying in Viridian City for the past few days, Ash wanted to go to the Indigo Plateau, and maybe challenge some of the Elite Four for extra training. Ash asked Gary if he would be there as well, since Ash still wanted a battle with him, but Gary had some other business with the Gym to take are of. However, he did promise to follow them as soon as he could, since he also looked forward to challenge Ash. Everyone was ready to get going, but there was no sign of Tracey.

"Do you know where Tracey went?" Ash asked Angie.

"No, one moment he was here and then he was gone," Angie answered.

"It nothing like Tracey to wander off without telling us," Ash said, "strange..."

Ash and Angie were standing at the front door of the building they had stayed the past few days, and Ash was getting more and more impatient with all this waiting. Suddenly the doors of the Pokémon Center, that was next to the building our other two friends were standing in front of, opened and Tracey came running out.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting guys!" he apologized while getting closer, "there was something I had to do in the Pokémon Center, but I guess I lost track of time in there."

"What was it then, you had to do so urgently?" an annoyed Ash asked.

"Uh... nothing special really," Tracey replied, blushing slightly.

"Okay, let's get going then!" Ash proposed, with his usual enthusiasm.

So they followed Route 22, which was leading them to the west. Then they would follow Route 23 to the north, that connected to Victory Road. But first they had to tackle the current path, before thinking about the challenges the other routes would bring. To make up for the lost time, Ash was walking at a rather high pace.

"Ash, slow down!" Angie was the first to comment on the haste Ash was displaying.

"But..." Ash objected.

"No but! Either we take a break now, or you can go on and travel alone, and we'll meet you later at the Indigo League or so," Angie threatened.

"Okay, okay..." Ash grumbled.

There was a small patch of grass, just ahead, and this seemed like the perfect spot for a little break. Reluctantly, Ash also sat down, but soon he had to admit it was actually nice to get a little rest. Especially after Angie presented some snacks she had prepared this morning. Soon Ash had forgotten completely about the giant rush he was in, earlier that day. Tracey on the other hand, seemed a bit absent minded today. He was staring in the distance, which wasn't that unusual for him, except he wasn't holding his sketchbook this time. Angie noticed it, and walked towards him, while Ash was lying on his back, his cap over his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Angie asked Tracey.

"Huh?" Tracey said as he was startled by Angie's question, "no, I'm fine..."

"I may not know you that long, but I can see something's bothering you," Angie continued, not accepting Tracey's answer.

Tracey looked down for a moment, and seemed to be thinking what to do next. Then he decided to confide in her.

"It's Misty..." he confessed.

"What about her?" Angie asked.

"Well, her sisters decided to go on a little trip all of a sudden, and thought she wouldn't mind running the gym all by herself while they were having fun," Tracey explained, "so Misty asked me if I could help her out."

"What did you say to her?" Angie informed.

"That I was traveling with Ash and you, and that I couldn't possibly take off just like that," Tracey continued, "but she didn't take that too well..."

"Why didn't you come to us then?" Angie wondered, "if you want to help her, we will understand, right Ash?"

"Wh...what?" Ash jumped up.

Ash was really startled, as he had almost dozed off already, and was suddenly wide awake again because of Angie calling him. Angie explained to him what Tracey had been telling her. Ash felt where the conversation was going, and that it would probably mean more delay in getting to the Indigo Plateau. As much as he hated that idea, he also didn't want to let a good friend down, so after some thought, he gave in. They turned around, heading for Viridian City once more. They were hoping Gary could lend Tracey his Aerodactyl, so he could get to Cerulean City really fast.

Tracey could catch up with them later, after Misty's sisters would have returned from their trip. Angie had let her Zigzagoon out off it's Poké Ball, to spend a little more time with her new friend. It was happily running around, one moment speeding ahead of them, and then racing back in a flash.

"It is really fast, right Angie?" Ash remarked, "have you ever seen one Zigzagoon move as fast as yours?"

Angie had seen some Zigzagoon raised at her parents' daycare center, and she had once seen a couple of them racing against each other as they were playing inside the corral, but she also didn't remember them moving that fast. She was just about to say that to Ash, as suddenly the sun was gone, and our friends found themselves in a large shadowy area.

"Huh, I thought there wasn't a cloud in the sky?" Ash wondered, as he had been watching the clouds earlier that day, as he was lying down on the grass, before he put his cap over his eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Angie remarked, as she looked up.

"There is something up there, blocking the sunlight," Tracey said, as he also looked up.

"The sun is gone, but here is something else for you!" a female voice shouted from above.

"Team Rocket!" our three friends yelled simultaneously as they recognized that voice all too well.

They realized the thing causing the large shadow was in fact Team Rocket's balloon. Next thing a large net fell from above, throwing our friends down on the ground.

"Let us go, you villains!" Ash yelled.

"Listen, is that a caught twerp that I hear?" was Jessie's reaction.

"It's yelling to me loud and clear," James added.

"From the ground!" Jessie continued.

"Under the net!" James said.

"In your ear!" Meowth joined the motto.

"Bringing Chaos at a breakneck pace," Jessie spoke.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in it's place," James said.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet," Jessie spoke again.

"When everything's worse, our work is complete," James continued.

"Jessie!" she introduced herself.

"James!" her companion did the same.

"And Meowth, now that's a name!" the catlike Pokémon added.

"Putting do-gooders in their place..." Jessie continued.

"We're Team Rocket..." James spoke once more.

"...in your face!" the three villains now said together.

"Woooobuuuffet!" the blob-like Pokémon closed the motto.

"We don't have time for this!" Angie yelled, "Zigzagoon, do Slash on the net!"

Angie's new Pokémon was running a little ahead of our three friends as they were caught, so it was still free to move around. With it's sharp claws, the net holding it's trainer and the others down, was cut to pieces.

"Hey! That net was really expensive, you know!" Meowth yelled in astonishment.

"Well, then you shouldn't have used it on us!" Ash countered that remark, "Pikachu, are you ready?"

"Not so fast!" Jessie yelled, "Meowth, showtime!"

"Alrighty!" the feline Pokémon acknowledged as he pressed a button on his remote control.

A large box fell down from the balloon, and our friends had to jump aside to avoid getting hit by it. The sides of the box folded open, revealing a rather large mecha that was inside. It's two legs extended to full length, and it's arms did the same. A hatch on top opened, and the three villains jumped in.

"Say hello to our Pika Buster Mark 3!" Meowth shouted.

"Huh, Mark 3?" Ash wondered, "I don't recall the other versions, what happened to them?"

"They were unfortunately lost during the first test runs..." James sighed, "let's have a moment of silence to honor the ones that have fallen for our cause..."

"We don't have time for that, get Pikachu!" Jessie shouted.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Chuuu!" Ash's little electric buddy said as it tried to shock Team Rocket's mecha.

But instead Pikachu was lifted up in the air by an invisible force. Ash tried to grab his Pokémon buddy, but it was drawn at high speed towards the mecha.

"Ash, what is happening!?" Angie yelled.

"I... I don't know..." Ash stuttered.

"Let me explain that, twerps!" Jessie replied, "as soon as Pikachu charges itself for an electrical attack, this little robot beauty generates a strong opposite charge, pulling Pikachu towards us in no time. Clever right? Hahahahaha!"

"Oh! Pikachu, stop your attack now!" Ash yelled, hoping to stop his buddy to get drawn closer to the mecha.

But it was too late, Pikachu was already in reach of the arms of the robot, and it was grabbed by one of it's claws.

"No! Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he reached for his Poké Balls.

"Let me handle it, Ash," Angie proposed, as she grabbed his arm.

Ash nodded, indicating he agreed with Angie's suggestion, and she ordered Zigzagoon to do Slash on the robot. But despite Zigzagoon's amazing speed, the robot managed to intercept it's attack, and whacked the Pokémon aside with a blow of it's free arm.

"Strike one!" Meowth laughed, "this robot is almost as fast as lighting itself, hehehehe!"

Zigzagoon tried again, but it was hit again, and simply swept aside with a strong blow of the mecha's arm.

"Strike two! One more and you're out!" Meowth laughed.

"Well that's nice, free entertainment..." Jessie said as she smiled down on Angie's Zigzagoon, while it was trying so hard to get through their defenses.

Angie's Pokémon was not about to give up yet though, and it raced again towards the Pika Buster mecha. But all it's determination didn't help, and it was hit again, this time causing it to roll backwards numerous times, before coming to full stop against a nearby tree.

"No! Zigzagoon!" Angie shouted as she wanted to run towards the place where her Pokémon was lying.

"Angie! Wait!" Ash said, as this time he was holding her back with his hand, "something's happening!"

"Huh?" the three villains controlling the robot wondered what was going on.

Zigzagoon started to glow! A bright light was surrounding it, and it seemed to be changing shape...

"It's... evolving..." Angie said, very surprised at the sudden turn of events.

Ash grabbed his Pokedex, and it indeed stated that Angie's Pokémon had turned into a Linoone now.

"That's awesome!" Angie cheered.

"I think it was already very close to evolving when you caught it," Ash remarked, "that explains why it is so fast, even for a Zigzagoon.

"Is that all you have to say about it?" Angie asked as she glared at Ash a little.

"You obviously trained it very well also," Ash quickly added.

"Now that sounds a lot better," Angie said, as she smiled again, "now it's time to see what it can do. Linoone, do Slash on that robot again!"

Linoone's already great speed was now even more enhanced by it's new shape, and it was almost invisible now as it whizzed past.

"Meowth! Where did it go!?" Jessie wondered, with a little fear in her voice, as she lost track of Angie's Pokémon.

Then Linoone appeared again, just in front of the robot, and with it's sharp claws, performed Slash on the arm holding Pikachu, causing it to fall down on the ground. The little electric Pokémon was free again, and immediately jumped into Ash's arms, where it got a short hug.

"Meowth, do something!" Jessie yelled.

"Yes, that creature is tearing up our precious Pika Buster Mark 3!" James complained.

"I'm trying, I'm trying, but that Linoone is simply too fast!" Meowth defended himself.

The catlike Pokémon had just finished saying that, as Linoone appeared again, now cutting off the other arm of the mecha. Unable to defend itself anymore, Angie's Pokémon was free to do another attack, this time on the robot's torso. It was neatly cut into two halves, and a few seconds later the robot collapsed in a pile of rubble and dust. The three villains came stumbling from the cloud of dust, coughing loudly.

"Oh... Team Rocket?" Ash smiled, "it's time to say goodbye to my trusty Pikachu Mark 1 now..."

"Huh?" the three Team Rocket members said, still a little dazed from the blow.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

The strong electric attack resulted in a large explosion, sending Jessie, James and Meowth flying upwards.

"Now why can't you do a Slash like that, Meowth!?" Jessie complained.

"Hey, I've got the brains already, brute force is more your territory!" Meowth replied.

"I'll show you some brute force when we have landed again!" Jessie threatened.

"Guys, can't you spare a moment of silence for our fallen Pika Buster Mark 3?" James asked.

"No time for that!" Jessie answered, "because...".

"...we're blasting off again!" all three yelled together.

"Nice job Linoone! And Pikachu of course!" Angie praised both Pokémon.

"Now it's even faster than before!" Ash added, "just look at it go!"

"Yes, but we've got to get moving now if we want to get Tracey back to Viridian City today," Angie remarked, as Tracey nodded.

With Team Rocket out off the way for now, our heroes quickly got back to Viridian City without any further delay. Gary had no problems with lending Tracey his Aerodactyl for getting him to Cerulean City, and after Tracey had first made a quick call to Misty to let her know he was on his way, he said goodbye for now to Ash and Angie, and took off. Since it was still before noon, Ash suggested to get moving again, and try to cover some distance before putting up their tents somewhere along the route. And so they left Viridian City again, but this time on their own, so if any new challenges were to come their way the next few days, they had to face them together...

My 41rd fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


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